mallard drake

Usually the only one on our pond; sometimes with mate; wild with no humans feeding it, unlike say popular-park birds.

I took this shot for Carann, but haven't seen any posts from her lately ...??? Are you OK, Carann?

Not that I saw all that many Mallards on this trip, but there were some almost every day, and with the mirror-flat water on the salt ponds that day I decided that was a good time to take a photo of one of them.

Sorry folks. I did get a bit of browsing done here at the airport, but the WiFi here is frustratingly slow. And now it's almost boarding time for my next flight. Also, I'm quite sunburned after spending some of my layover hours out in the wildlife preserve, so some of my browsing time was...

One stretch of the Tyne from Wallsend in to the city was marked with big warning signs - Keep off this shore! The shore was polluted from a former tar works. So I had to take a shot of this mallard drake in that very area, if only for the caption potential. Back in my childhood I actually knew a...

I should really be posting Dippers today. They're our national bird, and today is Norway's Constitution Day. But I don't have any Dipper shots on hand, so I'll post three other hardy species that stick with us year 'round. This guy, iridescing royal blue, can also represent our being a kingdom...

This guy hangs around with the hundred or so Mallards at the park on the river where lots of people come to feed the ducks. He's got the palest bill I've ever seen on a Mallard, almost blue. Anybody else seen Mallard bills so blueish? Is it maybe a sign of him being a hybrid?

I mentioned this shot yesterday, so now I retrieved it from my external hard drive. Taken back in January. The light wasn't all that great that day, but it must have been coming in from just the right angle. I've seen Mallard drakes iridescing purple, blue, green, and sometimes two or even three...

I uploaded a female the other day, so it's only fair I upload a male now; from the Reservoirs last week.

This duck was photographed on the Tennessee river.

This cheeky chappie and his mate decided to make themselves at home on my wildlife pond. I let them stay for a couple of days to take some pics but had to send them off before they decimated my other wildlife

A Drake Mallard skims the surface of the water searching for food.

The drake started off towards my direction, not aware that he was staring right at my lens :-)

Just tracked this one nicely as he came in to land.

This drake was following his duck which gave me a fraction of a second to line up and frantically get first pressure on the shutter in anticipation after hearing this happening all around me while focussing on something else and missing it.

I know they're a common bird, but at the moment I find myself fascinated by the intricacies of their plumage when viewed up close. It's a shame this pic is resized, as zooming in to the full size image file shows the staggering detail in their feathers even better. I'm sure I'll get over it and...

Another Mallard in the refuge. Thanks, Clyde L.

Took this pic in Wildlife Refuge. Hope you like. Thanks, Clyde L.

I keep telling myself not to keep taking shots of 'em but I'm glad I don't listen.Despite being so common they're also very nice-a bit like me.